Almost 90 per cent 'yes' for new Syria constitution

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Almost 90 per cent of voters approved Syria's new constitution brought in after 11 months of anti-regime protests, the interior minister announced on Monday.

Mohammed al-Shaar also told a news conference that turnout reached 57.4 per cent of eligible voters, with 89.4 per cent of the 8.376 million who cast their ballots in Sunday's referendum saying ‘yes’ to the new constitution.

"There has been a large turnout despite threats made by armed terrorist groups in some regions," the minister said, using a term employed by the authorities for rebels.

People went to polling stations "despite campaigns by treacherous media to stop citizens from exercising their rights and undermine the democratic process that took place freely and transparently," he added.

The opposition had called for a boycott of the referendum, while the United States described it as ‘laughable’.

Shaar said the referendum had allowed the Syrian people "to decide its future and to understand that this constitution will allow it to achieve its aspirations in all areas."

In the rebel-held areas of Homs in central Syria and Idlib in the country's northwest, "terrorists tried to obstruct this operation but only partially succeeded," the minister said.

He said 753,000 people had voted against the new constitution, or nine per cent, and there were 133,000 invalid ballots.

The new text ends the legal basis for the five-decade stranglehold on power of the ruling Baath party but leaves huge powers in the hands of President Bashar al-Assad who has faced a deadly revolt since last March.